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Language Imass
This page collects all that is known about the language of the Imass and tries to provide translations based on the examples of the language given in the books. Warning: may contain spoilers for all the books. In Memories of Ice *Maeth'ki Im - Pogrom of the Rotted Flower, i.e. the 33rd Jaghut warMemories of Ice, Prologue *Jaghra Til - the name of an inland sea born from shattered Jaghut ice-fields *L'amath - a part of the landscape, likely the area now known as the Lamathath Plain *T'ol Ara'd - an ancient lava river; translates maybe as 'river/road of stone?' (note: these words return in the phrases below, so any theories are welcome) * Aral Fayle - short for Chen're aral lich'fayle, translated by Tool as 'touched by stone', this is the name Tool gives Toc the Younger.Memories of Ice, Chapter 7, UK MMPB p.311 (Compare: Ifayle) * Onos T'oolan - Onos means clanless man (leading to the speculation that 'Onass' is a clanless woman), T'oolan means flawed flint.Memories of Ice, Chapter 7, UK MMPB p.312 - translations given by Tool In Midnight Tides The following phrases were used by Ulshun Pral, an Imass from the Refugium. Translations are not exact as much of them are the very young Rud Elalle paraphrasing what Ulshun said.Midnight Tides, Chapter 15, UK MMPB p.577-587 Interpretations are also based on our sum knowledge of Imass language so far. *Peth tol ool havra d ara *Arad havra'd ara. En'aralack havra d'drah. *Vis vol'raele. (something about the gates??) Absi'arad. (Probably: We promised her/him.) *Rae'd. Veb entara tog'rudd n'lan n'vis thal? (When he gets older, will he (Rud) eat us?) List vah olar n'lan? (What do dragons eat?) Ste shabyn? (Should we fear?) *Ki'bri arasteshabyn bri por'tol tun logdara kul absi. (they promised her-we-fear to take care of him (Rud) until her return) *Entara tog'rudd av? (Are you his (Rud's) father?) (Question: why do they call him tog'rudd? what does it mean?) *T'un havra'ad eventara. T'un veb vol'raele bri rea han d En'ev? (He says he understands them some now. There are holes (the gates) and would you like to go there? - I suspect Rud is withholding some of the translation here, at least the first sentence doesn't really match.) *Vi han onralmashalle. S'ril k'ul havra En'ev. N'vist. Lan'te. (We came here with a bonecaster. It was a realm of storms. There were beasts. There was much fighting.) (btw, onralmashalle is a fascinating word. It likely refers to their former bonecaster. Unless En'ev does... It also contains the the on-prefix for clanless and the -alle suffix that might be associated with fallen T'lan Imass.) *Vi truh larpahal. Ranag, bhed, tenag tollarpahal. Kul havra thelar. Kul. (This realm is a path/road. Herds migrate (travel the road) (note: ranag, bhed and tenag are large herd animals). They seem to come from nowhere. But they come.) *Epal en. Vol'sav, thelan (It is an overflow of where the road came from. Beyond, there is nothing.) *A evbrox'l list Tev. Starvald Demaelain Tev. (I am pleased (bright-gem-eyed) you know Holds. This Hold is Starvald Demelain.) In Reaper's Gale * Agkor Raella = Wolf SongReaper's Gale, Chapter 14 * Allish Raella = Caribou Song * Farl ved ten ara = RefugiumReaper's Gale, Chapter 17 In Toll the Hounds * De nek okral = Probably Short nose plains bear (This is what Samar Dev intuitively named an ancient bear god of war she met. Traveller knew it was Imass and translated it.Toll the Hounds, Chapter 18, UK HB page.664 * Okral = Plains bearToll the Hounds, Chapter 18, UK HB page.664 In Dust of Dreams * Nom Kala = knife dripDust of Dreams, Chapter 17 List of known words * Ay = extinct species of wolves * Ay'tog = yellow-haired kin to the ay, that live in the far south (hyena's??) * Absi = Promise NB: Absi Kire is the name Tool gives his mortal son. * Agkor = a type of predator, that hunts bhederin and dwells in forests, kin to Fanderay, so some kind of wolves? (See Agkor Raella above) * Allish = caribou * Bendal = a type of predator, white, kin to Fanderay, so some kind of wolves? * Bhed = extinct species of large prey animal, larger than their comparatively smaller bhederin cousinsDust of Dreams, Chapter 12 * Bhederin = species of large cattle-like animal * Em = fanged * Emlava = extinct species of large felines * Entara = father? * Ev = Eye(s) * Finnest = Hold of Ice * Imass = People, their name for themselves * Kilava = extinct species of large felines * Kire = Autumn * Kul = to come (verb); k'ul is probably its past tense: came. * Lan = flint (Lan'te is translated as 'there was much fighting', so it may also mean... weapon? sword? or just have several meanings. Compare also to T'lan, Tellann, N'lan) From thelan=nothing, Lan might also have an generic meaning of ‘thing’ or ‘object’ or similar * Larpahal = way/road/path ; from thelar=nowhere I draw that Lar means somewhere/place, so Pahal must indicate movement or direction * List = to know? * Monok = some kind of large ape * N'lan = to eat? * Okhan = snow bear * Okral = plains bear * Olar = Dragon * Onass = probably: clanless woman * Onos = clanless man.Memories of Ice, Chapter 7, UK MMPB p.311 Related: Onass, Onrack * Ool = veined * Pran = arctic fox * Raella = song * Ranag = extinct species of large prey animal * Roth = skeleton? * T' = hypothesis: a prefix that means broken or flawed. Examples where this meaning (if true) may apply: T'lan Imass; Onos T'oolan; Onrack T'Emlava; T'ber Tendara; T'iam; T'ol Ara'd; T'rolbarahl; T'riss. * Tenag = extinct species of large prey animal * Tellann = (Hold of) Fire, though the Path of Tellann is also the magic of the Soletaken Bonecasters. Olar Ethil appears to be the root here, being aspected to both. * Tev = Hold (as in The Holds) * thal = what? * thelan = nothing * thelar = nowhere * Til = sea/lake? * T’lan = broken flint or broken thing * Tol = river? / flow? * Tollarpahal = migration, contraction of Tol + Larpahal The Imass bonecasters appear to be named after their Soletaken shape (the first name), though this may not be a rule. Here is a list of the known ones: * Ay Estos = an arctic wolf (= an ay presumably) * Bek Okhan = a snow bear * Bendal Home = a wolf * Gr'istanas Ish'Ilm = a bear (but I don't see it in the name, he might be an exception) * Hentos Ilm = a colourful bird * Monok Ochem = a large silver-grey ape (a gorilla?) * Okral Lom = a plains bear * Pran Chole = an arctic fox * Til'Aras Benok = a bear (here the last name, Benok, sounds like a word for bear) * Kilava Onass = a large cat * Olar Ethil = a dragon We are also told the meaning of most of the Unbound's names (from HoC): * Ber'ok = dead ash treeHouse of Chains, Chapter 1 * Emroth = fanged skeleton * Haran'alle = antler from summer * Sin'b'alle = lychen for moss * Thek Ist = spear leg * Urual = mossy bone * ?? = red moss A bit of a theme here is moss (alle/al?). Maybe this is what T'lan Imass name those fallen who they leave behind? Or maybe it was just a fashion in their original clan? Other Imass names + speculative meanings: * Onos T’oolan = clanless man of flawed/broken veined Flint * Kig Aven (Kilava and Tool’s chieftain) = ? * Logros T’lan (commander of Logro, several clans?) = see T’lan, no idea about Logros * Eitholos Ilm (chieftain of Olar Ethils clan) = ? * Galad Ketan - could be a person or an indication of time * Onak Shendok - idem * Kron (a clan / army) * Is Kellanved an Imass word?? Kellan could be shadow and ved throne * Ulshun Pral * Cannig Tol (Pran Chole’s chieftain) Notes: The Imass language could combine several words into one. For example: arasteshabyn contained the words ara-ste-shabyn, and it probably meant something like 'her-we-fear', meaning Rud's mother. (Seemed they did not want to use her name... wisely.) Ev-ent-ara was likely another example. The Imass did not seem to use 'to be' (much?), leaving it implied in many sentences. Other theory (contradicts some previous ideas): they do use 'to be', and it goes like this: * A = I am * Av = you are * Ara = they are (not sure) * Arad = we are Though it could as easily be 'to have', as in many languages these verbs are used interchanged. Absi'arad means - probably - 'we promised'. So that could work as we are promised, or we have promised. (Or the arad-part could just mean 'we'.) In reference to a fan question, author Steven Erikson has stated that the "general rule for the insertion of glottal stop apostrophes is that, in Imass language, it confers past-tense". Notes and references Category:Imass Category:Languages